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Shadow of the Vampire
| runtime = 92 minutes | country = | language = English German Letzebuergh | budget = $8 million | gross = $11,155,214 }} Shadow of the Vampire is a 2000 horror film directed by E. Elias Merhige and written by Steven Katz, and starring John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, and Udo Kier. The film is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic vampire film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, directed by F. W. Murnau, in which the film crew begin to have disturbing suspicions about their lead actor. The film borrows the techniques of silent films, including the use of intertitles to explain elided action and iris lenses.Dread Central's Best Horror Films of the Decade The film received two Academy Award nominations, Best Supporting Actor and Best Makeup, but lost to Traffic and How The Grinch Stole Christmas, respectively. Plot In 1921, German director Frederich Wilhelm Murnau (John Malkovich) takes his Berlin-based cast and crew on-location in Slovakia and Poland in order to shoot Nosferatu, an unauthorized version of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. He informs them that the person playing the part of the vampire Count Orlok, an obscure German theater performer named Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), is a highly professional character actor, but in order to involve himself fully in his character, he will only appear among the cast and crew in full make-up and character (the real life Schreck was a German stage and film actor who appeared in several films, including Die Finanzen des Grossherzogs). The main setting is an old Slovak castle. Schreck is there waiting for the filming team, and his appearance and behavior are truly disquieting. The cameraman soon starts feeling terrorized and sick, and has to be taken away and replaced. The other main actor, Gustav von Wangenheim (Eddie Izzard), is frightened of Schreck, but then convinces himself that Schreck is simply a very good actor. On one occasion, two members of the crew are sharing a drink under the stars, and Schreck approaches. They invite him to join them, and Schreck drinks with them. Jokingly they ask about his vampirism and Schreck tells them of his history as a vampire, centuries old. When questioned, he tells the crew that he is so old, he cannot remember how he became a vampire, and cannot create more of his own kind. A bat flies by and Schreck catches it with a quick hand and bites it, ecstatically sucking blood from its body. The others are left impressed by what they still assume is talented acting. As it turns out, Schreck is a true vampire, and Murnau has made a deal with him in order to make his film absolutely realistic. Schreck has been promised the main actress, Greta Schroeder (Catherine McCormack), as a prize, provided he fulfills his role until the end of the filming. But the vampire is frequently uncooperative until eventually the entire production, stranded on an island in the North Sea, is at his mercy. In the end, Schreck kills Greta while acting out a scene. Murnau is left as the sole survivor, operating the camera, as several other crew members are killed and Schreck falls victim to the scripted death of Orlok: Enough time has passed for the sun to rise and its rays are now let onto the set. Cast * John Malkovich as Frederich Wilhelm Murnau, the director of Nosferatu * Willem Dafoe as Max Schreck, who plays Count Orlok/Count Dracula * Udo Kier as Albin Grau, the producer, art director, and costume designer * Cary Elwes as Fritz Arno Wagner, the cinematographer * Catherine McCormack as Greta Schroeder, who plays Ellen Hutter/Mina Harker * Eddie Izzard as Gustav von Wangenheim, who plays Thomas Hutter/Jonathan Harker * John Aden Gillet as Henrik Galeen, the screenwriter * Nicholas Elliott – Paul * Ronan Vibert – Muller * Sophie Langevin – Elke * Myriam Muller – Maria Production and financing The film's working title was Burned to Light, but the director E. Elias Merhige decided to change the name of the film when Willem Dafoe asked, "Who's Ed?"; the actor thought the title was Burn Ed to Light.Bonus features on Shadow of the Vampire DVD - Interview with E. Elias Merhige. The film was produced by Nicolas Cage's Saturn Films. Members of the online community "The HollyWood Stock Exchange" were able to donate a small sum towards the film's production, in exchange for listing their name on the DVD release of the film as "Virtual producers". Of the film's cast, two actors had previously appeared in vampire movies: Udo Kier played Count Dracula in Blood for Dracula (1974) as well appearing in Blade (1998) as Dragonetti and Cary Elwes played Arthur Holmwood in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Reception Critical reaction to Shadow of the Vampire has been mostly positive, with the film earning a rating of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.Shadow of the Vampire Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, writing that "director E. Elias Merhige and his writer, Steven Katz, do two things at the same time. They make a vampire movie of their own, and they tell a backstage story about the measures that a director will take to realize his vision", and that Dafoe "embodies the Schreck of Nosferatu so uncannily that when real scenes from the silent classic are slipped into the frame, we don't notice a difference."Shadow Of The Vampire :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews Ebert later awarded the film his Special Jury Prize on his list of "The Best 10 Movies of 2000", writing of Dafoe's "astonishing performance" and of the film, "Avoiding the pitfall of irony; it plays the material straight, which is truly scary."The Best 10 Movies of 2000 :: rogerebert.com :: News & comment Awards Shadow of the Vampire won several awards: * the Prix Tournage * the Saturn Award * the Gran Angular Award * the International Fantasy Film Award * the President Award * the Golden Satellite Award * the Independent Spirit Award * the LAFCA Award for Willem Dafoe * the Bram Stoker Award for Steven Katz Willem Dafoe was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. References External links * * * * * [http://www.awesomestories.com/flicks/shadow-vampire/max-schreck Learn about the real F.W. Murnau, Max Schreck and the silent film Nosferatu, featured in Shadow of the Vampire] Category:2000 films Category:American films Category:British films Category:Luxembourgian films Category:English-language films Category:German-language films Category:Nosferatu Category:2000s horror films Category:American horror films Category:BBC Films Category:British horror films Category:Films about filmmaking Category:Films about films Category:Films set in 1921 Category:Films set in Poland Category:Films set in Slovakia Category:Films shot in Luxembourg Category:Lions Gate Entertainment films Category:Luxembourgian horror films Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Vampires in film